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Finland
The 'Republic of Finland '''is a republic in northeastern Europe. It is noted for being more libertarian and progressive than most other nations of Europe, being the first country in Europe to decriminalize homosexuality in 1845. Despite its more progressive ideology, it is a frequent trade partner with the more conservative Germany. The two also have diplomatic ties, as Germany was the first major power to recognize Finnish independence. However, Finland is much closer to its northern neighbor, Norway. The two share close diplomatic relations, and rumors have been going that Finland intends to propose an alliance with Norway, called the Norde Pakt. If this alliance were ever to emerge, however, the Finns and Norwegians would have to overcome the Thorist Party, the Norwegian fascist political party growing in popularity since 1885. In the meantime, Finland remains a politically neutral country that doesn't publicly take sides in major political crises. Government Finland is a Democratic Republic, and in Finland, citizens can vote for their representatives and leaders. The political spectrum is divided largely between three parties: the Liberaalipuolue (Liberal Party), the Oikeapuolue (Right Party), and the Keskusryhmä (Centre Group). There are, however, other political parties, such as the Communist Suomen kansanpuolue (Finnish People's Party) and the Fascist Ukkonen Legio (Thunder Legion). History Background Until the Finnish Revolution of 1839-44, Finland was under Russian sovereignty. The Finns accepted their position as Russian subjects willingly, and the Russians enjoyed the spoils of the region's fishing industry. However, in 1838, there was a disaster in the Gulf of Finland. An ocean liner, blown off course from Stockholm, crashed into the port of Helsinki, destoying it and taking 14 lives. The local Finnish government pleaded for the Russian Empire to respond, however the Russians were too occupied with the ongoing Great Eastern War and Polish Revolution to intervene. Furious, the Finnish people staged protests against the Russians, only to be met with military force. Then-Emperor Vladmiriov VI authorized general Georgy Lenovich to take a small army to Helsinki to quell the protests. Lenovich had planned for the Finns to surrender simply by seeing an army amassed in Helsinki. However, the plan backfired, and Finnish protesters fought back, resulting in the Helsinki Massacre. This stirred up hatred and nationalism among the Finnish people, and many came to support the idea of Finnish independence. Revolutionary Taavi Rueden organized a militia in the countryside, and recruited several Finnish militarymen to fight for the cause. He also got the Finnish Corps, the Finnish sector of the Russian Imperial military, to switch sides and join the cause of independence. With an army amassed, Rueden held a speech in Helsinki in the evening of November 22nd, 1844, and declared Finnish independence. Revolution ''Main Article: Finnish Revolution Taavi Reuden was a skilled politician, but also an intelligent general. He paid close attention to his army's strengths and weaknesses during the first few days of fighting, and planned accordingly. He used the cold nights of late November to his advantage, picking off Russian troops marching through the snowy wilderness. His advances swept the whole of Finland, and the few Russian divisions stationed there were unable to resist the revolution. The Russians, however, were not yet ready to surrender. With fighting continuing, Rueden made the decision to push into Russian-held Karelia. The advances were slow and cruel, as Rueden made sure not to let Russian resistence fight back. Eventually, Reuden had surrounded the eastern side of Petrograd, where he issued to the Russians an ultimatum: Release Finland, or face the fall of Petrograd. With victory in the Great Eastern War now a pipe dream, the Russians conceded, granting Finland its independence shortly before its surrender in the war. Post-Independence With Finland freed from Russian control, Reuden was free to look inward. The Helsinki Convention of 1844 established the Finnish government as a multi-party democratic republic. The first party to be founded was Rueden's Keskusryhmä, a Centrist movement that followed no political ideology. It followed the ideology of Realpolitik, and adapted to fit situations the country was presented with. This party won the first Finnish elections almost completely unopposed, making Taavi Reuden the first President of Finland. Reuden's Presidency was marked by the first declaration of neutrality in Finnish history, when it declared neutrality in the Prusso-Dutch war of 1846. This trend would continue throughout the course of Finnish history, with neutral options being taken any time the option was available. This trend became known as the Reuden Dogma. Reuden's Presidency also saw social and economic reform, geared in the direction of de-Russification. Russian Orthrodoxy was discouraged as a religion, and many Orthorodox Finns converted to the Finnish Orthrodox Church. Traditional Finnish symbolism was repurposed for the new Finnish state as well, particularly ancient Pagan symbols. This struck up conflict with Finnish Christians, but Reuden proclaimed that Finland was a secular state, and that using traditionally Pagan symbols should not be banned on religious grounds. This became a popular concept in Finland, and this secularism would lead to the overall decline of religion in the country. Reuden also formed the modern Finnish economy. He granted companies loading off ports in Helsinki, Turku, and other cities free access to the ports in exchange for an increase in the traditional Russian taxes. In By the 1850s, Finland had become a major exporter of Fish, and had made a considerable profit doing so. Reuden's Presidency came to a close in 1852, after 8 years in office. By the end, his more Centrist ideology became associated with authoritarianism, and the people voted in Maari Kuela of the Liberaalipuolue, the Liberal Party founded in 1848. Kuela was a liberal who reinterpereted Reuden's Realpolitik to form a more liberal and progressive ideology. Despite being a liberal, however, Kuele was also a devoted nationalist to the Finnish state, and persued the nation's best interests - almost to the point of aggression. She challenged Swedish and Danish fishing zones in the Baltic sea, and sailed dangerously close to Petrograd. These actions were provokative at best, and grounds for war at worst. Such an incident occurred in 1855, when a Danish fishing ship found itself surrounded by Finnish vessels. This was interpereted by the Danes as a military formation, and the ship just so happened to be loaded with weapons being shipped to Russia. The Danish sailors on board armed themselves and proclaimed out to the Finns that their ship would not surrender until it was sunken. The Finns, though confused, interpereted this as a threat. In a fit of rage, the Danes attacked first, firing their cannons at the Finnish ships. Two ships were hit before the Finns retaliated, sinking the ship and capturing the men on board. When news of this reached Copenhagen, the Danes were furious and demanded Finland return the sailors and compensate them for their losses. The Finns, however, refused on the grounds that the Danes attacked first. Infuriated, Denmark declared war on Finland on September 9th, 1855. Fenno-Danish War (1855-1861) Main Article: Fenno-Danish War The war's early stage consisted of several skirmishes in the central Baltic Sea. Finnish naval commander Tuva Ammarheim lead the fronts against the Danes, and his involvement in the war led to its escalation. The Danes responded by sending their own commander, Arik Gobenhav. Govenhav led a naval expedition up the Swedish coast and around Gotland to attack the Finnish coast itself. While he did command a large fleet, the assault was too ambitious and was pushed back to Gotland, where the Swedes allowed Gobenhav and his men to stay. Finland, not wanting to attack neutral Sweden, decided to instead loop around and attack Gobenhav's fleet as soon as they left port. Gobenhav, falling for the trick, left the harbor and was immediately met with a Finnish fleet surrounding him. Despite the enourmous odds stacked against him, Gobenhav beat the Finns at what became known as the Battle fo Gotland. Now without a Finnish fleet blocking his way, he made his way again to the Finnish coast, where he successfully defeated a Finnish division stationed on the west coast. The Finns, now alarmed, had Tuva Ammarheim sail from Helsinki to the Gulf of Bothnia to attack Gotland's fleet. What Ammarheim didn't expect, however, was the Danes to call in a second fleet to surround Ammarheim in the Gulf of Bothnia. Now with two fleets on each side, Ammarheim was in a desparate situation. He fired his cannons at each ship, sinking several in the process, before the Danes retaliated. They moved inward on Ammarheim's ships, enclosing him in the Gulf of Bothnia, until suddenly, the Fins deployed a line of Ironclad warships to the south of the Danish fleet. The Danes attempted to break the line, but failed due to their own ships' vulnerability. The Finns destroyed the southern Danish fleet and regrouped with Ammarheim to lead a charge against Gobenhav, who was now trapped in the norther Gulf of Bothnia. Desparate to escape, he abandoned ship and fled to northern Sweden, where he was found by the Swedes and returned to Denmark. He refused to continue fighting the war afterwords. After what became known as the Battle of Bothnia, the Finns advanced forward through the Baltic Sea, gaining naval dominance over the north, and eventually attacking the south. Their greatest commander rendered useless, the Danes were forced to surrender when the Finns landed at Copenhagen Port in June 1861. In the resulting Treaty of Copenhagen, the Finns gained commercial fishing rights over the Gulf of Bothnia, and the Danes were forbade from sending military ships north or east of Gotland. Post-War In 1860, Kuele's Presidency over Finland came to an end, and the man who ended the war was Sinikka Tahtinen of the Keskusryhmä. During Kuele's Presidency, nostalgia grew for the old days of Taavi Rueden's Finland, a time of prosperity for all Finns. As such, the people elected a member of Reuden's party, and Tahtinen was the man who ran for the party. Under Tahtinen, Finland focused inward, ignoring most exterior influence. It maintained the Reuden Doctrine, refusing to get involved in any foreign conflicts and only focusing on Finland's issues. Tahtinen did, however, enjoy the spoils of Fenno-Danish war, using the monopoly on the Gulf of Bothnia to turn Finland into the richest country in northern Europe. This attracted the attention of Norway, who saw Finland's prosperity and rivalry with Denmark as an opportunity. The Fenno-Norwegian Trade Agreement of 1865 saw Finland gain numberous new imports and rights from and in Norway, and the two's relationship increased considerably. While Tahtinen did not want to formally sign a military alliance, he did see greatly respect Norway and privately agreed to fund them in times of war. While the war never came, it did serve as a reminder of the good relations held between Finland and Norway. Modern Era The 1860s, 70s, and 80s saw little foreign interaction in Finland, outside Norway. The Reuden Doctrine has been restored, and enforced by all 3 main parties that have come to power. Whether it will be maintained is questionable, however, as Finland and Norway draw ever closer to forming the Norde Pakt.